Profile: Sarah Selover (1863–1932)
Sarah Selover (1863–1932) was born Sarah Evans in Lincroft, New Jersey, in 1863. She studied at
the Peddie Institute in Hightstown and at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where
she later taught chemistry and higher mathematics. After a few years of teaching, Selover became
discouraged with the low salary, so decided to go into medicine. She graduated from the New York
Medical College in 1893, and spent a year as an intern at the New England Hospital for Women
and Children in Boston.
In 1894, upon the advice of a friend, Selover set up a medical practice in South River, New
Jersey, believing that it was easier for a female doctor to succeed in a small town. South River
nationalities including Poles, Russians, Austrians, Slavs, and Hungarians had moved to the area.
Sarah soon built up a successful practice, and married a local man, Charles H. Selover, in 1896.
They had no children.
In subsequent years, Sarah Selover became a leading medical doctor and citizen of
South River. As a doctor, she did everything from bringing babies into the world to treating 450
patients during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. Her practice extended from South River to the
neighboring towns of Sayreville, Old Bridge, Spotswood, and Milltown. In South River, Selover
served as town doctor, school examiner, and doctor for a number of lodges, societies, plants,
and industries. She was a member of various local clubs and municipal organizations. Selover
was a convinced suffragist who founded the South River Suffrage Club in 1915 and served as its
president. Selover suffered a debilitating stroke in June 1931 and died in April 1932. All business
in South River ceased for two minutes as her funeral began at the Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Sarah Selover, 1918
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